From a press conference (Google translated from the Arabic) conducted by three of the most senior figures involved in inciting Muslims to attack Jews over the issue of rights to the Temple Mount, Sheikh Raed Salah, Sheikh Ikram Sabri and the PA's Hatem Abdel Qader (here, too)

New attacks detected on the Mount and the Mughrabi GateReligious
figures and warned of the danger of national Israeli aggression against
Al Aqsa Mosque and the Gate, and impose a new reality in the light
of the world's preoccupation with the Arab spring.This
came in a press conference held by the Al-Aqsa Foundation for the stop
and Heritage today to detect the most recent Israeli attacks over the Al
Aqsa Mosque and the Mughrabi Gate calling it "a fierce attack on the
Al-Aqsa Mosque."..."the occupation continues its crime in order to open the
door...to reach through it to the
chapel bright one of the buildings of the Al Aqsa Mosque towards the
Judaization of this place, also aims to open the door leading to a
network of tunnels under the Aqsa Mosque from the area of ​​the Mughrabi
Gate, the conversion part of the vacuum to the reality of the Mughrabi Gate in the way of what he calls fraud 'Wailing Wall for the Jews.' "... the Mughrabi Gate and Al-Aqsa mosque are all Islamic
waqf, and attacks on these areas is an attack on the Islamic Waqf, the
right of the rights of Muslims not only in Palestine but in the world...bullldozers
demolish the Mughrabi Gate...an integral part of the Wailing Wall, the Wailing Wall an integral part of the western wall, western wall and an integral part of the Al Aqsa Mosque. "..."The occupation wants to resolve the battle for Jerusalem through
the creation of new facts, and certainly the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the
spearhead.""The
Al-Aqsa Mosque is witnessing this period, a plan to impose a systematic...break into a large-scale, and especially
that the Israeli forces stormed the squares in an orderly fashion...We regret that the National Authority remiss about
Jerusalem, because they do not put Jerusalem on the top priorities, and
asked her to bear the responsibility of national and political and
financial support the steadfastness of the residents of Jerusalem, and
the official announcement that the Oslo agreement failed ...! I do not
know why they are sticking to this agreement ...?

In any case, after the clip where Gideon's son argues with him, that he is rigid-thinking but finally gets him to admit that an Arab who fires off a Qassam should be killed, the son, Uri, says: "At least once, publish a column that you're satisfied with our soldiers." -

here is saying, and it's in English,to his Swedish girlfriend: "I need a challenge in my life...either to write a book or another intifada." -

JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney offended Palestinian leaders on Monday by suggesting that cultural differences explain why the Israelis are so much more economically successful than Palestinians, thrusting himself again into a volatile issue while on his high-profile overseas trip.

Did you catch the error?

No?

Oh.

Well, that opening sentence lead-in should have been written

Palestinian leaders claimed Mitt Romney offended them on Monday

That would be fair journalism. Not every statement is truthful, even if it need be published. And what one person considers offensive may not be.

...In his
column on Monday, Yedioth Ahronoth's senior political analyst, Nahum Barnea, used the various code words to fire-up his crowd...reiterat[ing] the same old line of attack that has been
a mainstay of the Left since the days of Joseph Stalin — both at home
and abroad: Take a swipe at the person and use malicious language
against him rather than fight over ideology. How does Barnea and his
gang view the world? Ever since the Israeli left realized that it had
failed to win over the majority of Israelis, it has moved away from the
people....Despite the
painful blows history has dealt the Left, it has remained a religious
cult whose members do not let the facts confuse them.

Israel lacks a real
dialogue between conservatives and liberals, between the Left and the
Right; just as it does not have real dialogue between the religious and
the secular. Whereas conservative, religious or right-wing Israelis
evaluate the Left's arguments according to the changing reality, the
Left has a adopted a blind and condescending approach that idealizes
ignorance under the guise of intellectualism.

A senior U.S. reporter
was asked two days ago whether it was indeed true that the "fund-raising
event has caused a stir in the U.S. media," as Barnea put it. The
reporter was baffled by the question. Indeed the left-wing media outlets
in the U.S. are in the tank for Obama, just like most of the Israeli
media is anti-Netanyahu. This is the main thing we have to understand —
political journalism has come at the expense of true journalism.

Barnea even went so far
as to use Israel's national poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik, to make his
point. Alluding to one of Bialik's famous poems, "A Bird's Nest", Barnea
said "two eggs are now in Sheldon's nest, among the trees, and each has
a precious chick inside — Mitt and Bibi [referring to Romney and
Netanyahu]."

"Both are fed from the
same beak; they both view the same checkbook as their hope for political
survival; this is a first in the relations between the two countries."

So there you have the
hollow left-wing condescending rhetoric in a nutshell. I have heard the
same line of attack from Barnea impersonators in the media who say
Netanyahu does not have his own opinions or that he lacks a coherent
world view; or that he has no ideals or goals apart from pleasing fake
patrons. The same applies to Mitt Romney, they say.

The blind supporters of
Barnea, an Israel Prize for Journalism laureate, should listen closely
to his bad-mouthing: The person who might become the next leader of the
free world cannot formulate his own opinions and is a puppet of a Jewish
tycoon. So there we have it: a revised, current and contemporary
edition of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

It's a private manner that should not give Israel's enemies cause to use other means (i.e., violence and terror I presume)

From CNN:

The sensitive issue of Israeli settlement construction in the
Palestinian West Bank is something that should be "discussed in
private," Mitt Romney said in an interview with CNN Monday.

"I believe that the issue of settlements is something which should be
discussed in private by the American president and our allies," Romney
told Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "When we show diplomatic
distance between ourselves and our ally, I think we encourage people who
oppose that relationship to seek other means to achieve their ends."

...a theological dimension to his
support of Israel. Along with American evangelicals, Mormons like Romney
have long been hawkish on the Jewish state, as well as frequent
visitors to the Holy Land, making pilgrimages to sites like the Western
Wall, Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Mormons share with
many Christians and Jews a belief that Israel is an integral part of
their own biblical-era past and humanity’s inevitable apocalyptic
future. But it’s precisely their theological and social differences from
other religions that require Mormons, including Romney, to negotiate a
number of pitfalls whenever they are in Israel...Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People, explains that church historian and Mormon president “Joseph
Fielding Smith adopt[ed] a somewhat Scofield-esque interpretation—the
restoration of the state of Israel is a necessary predicate for the
Second Coming.” But more recently, says Bowman, Mormon end-times
rhetoric has become less explicit, “largely reduced to moralism… [that]
the world is growing increasingly sinful.”

Religious freedom is not just about religion. It’s not just about the
right of Roman Catholics to organize a mass, or Muslims to hold a
religious funeral, or Baha’is to meet in each others’ homes for prayer,
or Jews to celebrate High Holy Days together – as important as those
rituals are. Religious freedom is also about the right of people to
think what they want, say what they think, and come together in
fellowship without the state looking over their shoulder.

That’s why the free exercise of religion is the first freedom
enshrined in our First Amendment, along with the freedoms to speak and
associate. Because where religious freedom exists, so do the others.
It’s also why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects freedom
of thought, conscience, and religion – all three together – because
they all speak to the same capacity within each and every human being to
follow our conscience, to make moral choices for ourselves, our
families, our communities.

So why can't I enter the Temple Mount without overt restriction? Cannot pray anywhere therein, as unobtrusively as possible? Cannot read a Psalter or from Lamentations? Cannot dig there to excavate archaeological finds from my people's history at the site from two or more millenia ago?

The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law safeguards the holy sites of
all religious groups, including in Jerusalem. All holy sites enjoy
certain protections under the penal law, which makes it a criminal
offense to damage any holy site, while historic sites are protected by
the antiquities law...A government policy since 1967, repeatedly upheld by the Supreme
Court and routinely enforced by the police citing security concerns,
denies all non-Muslims opportunities to worship at the Temple
Mount/Haram al-Sharif. While the government ensured limited access to
the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif to everyone regardless of religious
beliefs, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site, although their
access has been occasionally restricted due to security concerns. Police
regulated traffic in and out of the compound and removed non-Muslim
visitors if they appeared to be praying. Since 2000 the Jordanian Waqf
that manages the site has restricted non-Muslims from entering the Dome
of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslim religious symbols are
not allowed to be worn on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

Government authorities prohibit mixed-gender prayer services at
Jewish religious sites maintained by the Chief Rabbinate in deference to
the belief of most Orthodox Jews that such services violate the
precepts of Judaism. At the Western Wall, men and women must use
separate areas to visit and pray. According to a policy repeatedly
upheld by the Supreme Court, women are not allowed to conduct prayers at
the Western Wall while wearing prayer shawls and are not permitted to
read from Torah scrolls because this form of prayer by women violates
Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law. There is a separate prayer area
along the Western Wall, south of the Mughrabi Gate where women may read
the Torah and pray wearing prayer shawls.

The signs posted around the Western Wall plaza requesting gender
segregation throughout the plaza, rather than just at the prayer areas,
were removed in 2010. Official “modesty patrols” occasionally attempted
to enforce gender separation and guarded the path designated for “men
only” that was installed in 2009 opposite the Western Wall. According to
the government-appointed Rabbi of the Western Wall, the path was
created for those who asked to be able to get to the Western Wall plaza
without having to walk through a mixed-gender area.

P.S. Here is how she kowtows to the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt:

Now meanwhile, Egypt is grappling with these challenges as it
navigates its unprecedented democratic transition. And during my recent
visit, I met with members of the new government, including President
Morsi, and representatives from Egypt’s Christian communities. Religious
freedom was very present behind closed doors and out in the streets.
President Morsi has said clearly and repeatedly, in public and private,
that he intends to be the president of all the Egyptian people. He has
pledged to appoint an inclusive government and put women and Christians
in high leadership positions. The Egyptian people and the international
community are looking to him to follow through on those commitments.

But I heard from Christians who want to know that they will be
accorded the same rights and respect as all Egyptians in a new
government led by an Islamist party. They wonder, understandably, will a
government looking explicitly to greater reliance on Islamic principles
stand up for non-Muslims and Muslims equally? Since this is the first
time that Egypt has ever been in this situation, it’s a fair question.
Egyptians are building a brand new democracy. What it will look like,
how it will work, how it will handle religious pluralism – Egyptians
will be writing the answers to those and many other questions for years
to come.

As I told the Christians with whom I met, the United States does not
take the side of one political party over another. What we do is stand
firmly on the side of principles. Yes, we do support democracy – real
democracy, where every citizen has the right to live, work, and worship
how they choose, whether they be Muslim or Christian or from any other
background; where no group or faction can impose their authority or
their ideology or their religion on anyone else; where there is healthy
competition, and what we call checks and balances, so no one institution
or leader gets too powerful and the rights of all citizens are
respected and protected.

The Egyptian people will look to their elected leaders to protect the
rights of all citizens and to govern in a fair and inclusive manner,
and so will we. And if voters make different choices in future
elections, then they and we will expect their leaders to respond to the
will of the people and give up power. We are prepared to work with the
leaders that the Egyptian people choose. But our engagement with those
leaders will be based on their commitment to universal human rights and
universal democratic principles.

Another important aspect of Egypt’s transition is whether citizens
themselves respect each other’s differences. Now we saw that capacity
vividly in Tahrir Square, when Christians formed a circle around Muslims
in prayer, and Muslims clasped hands to protect Christians celebrating a
mass. I think that spirit of unity and fellowship was a very moving
part of how Egyptians and all the rest of us responded to what happened
in those days in that square. And if, in the years ahead, if Egyptians
continue to protect that precious recognition of what every single
Egyptian can contribute to the future of their country, where people of
different faiths will be standing together in fellowship, then they can
bring hope and healing to many communities in Egypt who need that
message.

A former Israeli soldier, who was residing in the
Deheishe refugee camp near Bethlehem, was recently arrested by
Palestinian security forces at Israel’s request. Born in the Soviet Union, Andrey Pshenichnikov, 24, moved to Israel
eleven years ago. Pshenichnikov served in the Israel Defense Forces,
including an extra 18 months as a career soldier. In the past three months, Andrey resided on Palestinian territory in
the city of Bethlehem and in Deheishe refugee camp, “as part of the
political struggle for Palestinian rights,” he explains....He says that he wanted to “abandon the privileged Zionist life, and
cross to the side of the occupied people as a sign of solidarity.”

"Political struggle"?

The story goes on:

In Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, the state argued that he was a member
of a terrorist organization and that he strives for the destruction of
Israel.

Terror?

Well

Pshenichnikov rejects Zionism and says his views are close to those of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

He told Israeli officials: "I have concluded that Israel is the
representative of Western power interests in the Middle East, and that
Zionism made cynical use of the Jewish faith … I hate Zionism". Pshenichnikov also encouraged others to join him in opposing Israel:
"I want to be part of the Palestinian resistance. I call for other
Israelis who support the existence of a state of Palestine to do the
same, to come live in the West Bank or Gaza as Palestinians."

I know that basically the campaign to get an official Olympic Committee "Moment of Silence" for the Munich Olympic victims of terror, who all happened to be Israelis - for some reason - has basically failed.

Oh, and I left this comment at this Rabbi's site, Brant, which is his first name, one who undermined the campaign despite his claim that "My intention with this post was not argue pro or con the moment of
silence but to explore the manner in which the Jewish establishment has
seen fit to press this issue with the IOC" -:

How I “love” Jews who hate each other so much.

Take note, from July 28

“AJC was surprised to learn last night that the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) indeed chose to hold a moment of remembrance for terror
victims — just not one dedicated to the memory of the 11 Israeli
Olympians murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics 40
years ago.

After rejecting repeated requests from the victims’ families and
world leaders, including President Obama and the Australian, Canadian,
German and Italian parliaments, for a minute of silence at the opening
ceremony in London, there was a commemoration of the victims of the 2005
terror attacks in London.
…IOC President Jacque Rogge repeatedly turned down the requests for
honoring the fallen Israelis, saying that such a moment of silence would
not be appropriate and, misleadingly, had no precedent.

Indeed, there have been observances in past Olympics, including in 2002 to honor the victims of 9/11 and now of 7/7.”

And so I mourn your victimhood – victim of your own unwillingness to
accept and confront Jew-hatred or just plain everyday hostility and
willingness to accept the “worm of Jacob” status (see Isaiah 41:14) or
membership in the League of Trembling Israelites. You blame the Jews
who are proud to stand up to power that is immoral while the Olympic
Committee thumbs its nose or other body part to you as you undermine a
position which is right and just by terming it “political”

Seven years ago, Police Commander Nisso Shaham was caught on video during the disengagement instructing a border guard unit who were besieging anti-evacuation marchers at
the Kfar Maimon moshav. It was shown on Channel Two news and caused his removal from duties during the Disengagement.

These reports are translated and publicized byYehudit Tayar for Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron with the clearance and confirmation of the IDF. Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron is a voluntary emergency medical organization with over 500 volunteer doctors, paramedics, medics who are on call 24/7 and work along with the IDF, 669 IAF Airborn Rescue, the security officers and personal throughout Yesha and the Jordan Valley, and with MDA.

Vehicle with 2 Arabs inside bashed into the IDF checkpost at El Azim near Ma'aleh Adumim in an attempt to run over a ranking officer of the Israeli Border Police and the greater Jerusalem Region. The officer opened fire on the terrorists attacking him and mortally injured the driver who died later on, another terrorists was injured and a border policeman was injured from the shrapnel. The injured were evacuated to Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem.

Attacks from Gaza during the Shabbat : 1 rocket fallout in Zikim, 4 rocket fallout between Sderot and the Security Fence separating Gaza and Israel, 1 rocket fallout near Nir Oz and 1 norht of Re'im

July 27, 2012

Jewish resident of Hebron attacked by group of Arabs when he went to bathe in the Spring near Tel Romeida.

July 26, 2012

Arabs attack IDF patrol and Israeli vehicles with rocks on the Gush Etzion-Hebron Highway near Bet Umar and Halhul.

Jewish community of Hebron: Arabs attack IDF soldier and Jewish civilians with blocks.

I try to stay away from in-camp arguments in public. Unless there are factual errors, rather than differences of opinion, I have found that disputes really do no good.

However, since the article in question I am bothered about was posted online, and by Ynet, thus assuring wide distribution, and since I have already been asked about it, and I have a feeling it will come back to haunt us,I cannot but relate to it and will do so compactly.

The article expresses a negative view of Mitt Romney's visit to Israel. No, not from a J Street or Open Zion standpoint, nor even from the Democratic National Committee but from an official spokesperson from the Samaria Regional Council, of all people.

Romney's decision to visit Western Wall on Tisha B'Av for photo op is insult to Jews

and he suggests

Romney's repeating of
the expected mantra about America standing with Israel if Israel attacks
Iran is not very convincing, and is pretty close to meaningless.

and that he feels

unhappy today
with Mitt Romney's visit to Israel: not because of the intention, which I
believe is good, but because of the choice of the visit's date - which
is terrible.

and asks that we

Think of this
distinguished visitor coming to the Kotel for a photo op, all shining
clean and smiling – while walking by Jews sitting on the ground in
mourning for our Temple that once towered over that very spot. It is about as close as an insult to our dignity as could be conceived.

Well, to be kind, I could say that it was Tisha B'Av and the fasting affected his writing.

Or that since Mitt is a Mormon, maybe this was a blow for Christians.

Or perhaps he wasn't invited to any of the events (I don't know that and I myself was excluded although if I had stayed at the Western Wall Plaza instead of going straight to the Rav Goren Minyan maybe I would have seen him).

It's not that there isn't a logic in the piece. Nevertheless, it doesn't make sense.

I saw hundreds of Jews doing the exact same thing, taking pictures, standing next to the Kotel and all, there yesterday. Local residents and from afar. And dressed quite less modestly that the Romneys.

Not only that, but the words Mitt spoke before and after the visit to the Western Wall were superb. The photos were wonderful (see how I used one). And after all, the Wall is but the external portion of what is truly sacred - the Temple Mount.

As some people wrote to me:

- although the timing at first seemed problematic, he turned it around and made it one of the utmost support for Jerusalem exactly on the most proper day - Tisha B'Av and I am given to understand that family members fasted for a period of time in empathy and the trip to City of David was powerful.

- the meetings with Mofaz and Yechimovitch were cancelled which means that the Kotel is more important.

- Abbas was not on his visitors' list.

- his statement on Jerusalem as Israel's capital was unequivical.

Someone else bemoaned that

"we never miss an opportunity to shoot ourselves in the foot."

And this is being plain mean:

It is something like
coming to someone's mother's funeral and asking for cake, and then
posting your picture all over the internet eating the cake, and
commenting how much you love your host and promising to put in a good
word for him if he has a problem with his neighbors.

If anything, it is possibly the next President of the United States coming to visit you when you are down and out and assuring you that he is your friend. He took out time from an election campaign, losing stateside time and money and exposure, to make a point---

America is Israel's friend despite the current Administration and despite the State Department. That the Bible-believers there will fight Israel's fight. And that he is comfortable with Jewish support. That is well-worth any slight - and I think there was none - that some people think was done.

...emphasized faith—a subject he rarely addresses on the campaign trail back home.

"I
am overwhelmingly impressed with the hand of providence, whenever it
chooses to apply itself, and also the greatness of the human spirit, and
how individuals who reach for greatness and have purpose above
themselves are able to build and accomplish things that could only be
done by a species created in the image of God," Romney said. "I come to
this place, therefore, with a sense of profound humility, as I look
around here at great people who've accomplished a great thing, and also a
sense of spiritual connection, acknowledging the hand of providence in
establishing this place and making it a holy city."

I would like very much to deal with the issue of Romney's tacky photo-op
at the site of the obliterated Jewish Temple on one of the most solemn
days on the Jewish calendar (the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin and I
had a little bit of an argument on this matter on Twitter yesterday, and
she continues to believe that the Western Wall is an appropriate
campaign stop for an American presidential candidate, especially on the
day Jews set aside to mourn for the destruction of the Temple. I'm sure,
by the way, that Rubin would endorse an Obama campaign stop at Yad
Vashem on the Holocaust Memorial Day.)

Not very smart. Holocaust Day is the day personalities visit Yad Vashem.

"Where does Mitt
Romney stand?" demanding that the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee commit to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict...Romney during the presidential campaign has not endorsed the
two-state solution, but has said the Palestinians must show commitment
to a two-state solution as a predicate for peace talks advancing. He
also has noted that Israel's government seeks a two-state solution.

As presidential candidate Mitt Romney prepares to travel to Israel, J
Street, a pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group, is releasing a new video
urging the presidential candidate to publicly stand with the last three
Prime Ministers of Israel and decades of Republican and Democratic
leaders in favor of a two-state solution.

The 60-second video draws a sharp distinction between the bipartisan
two-state consensus, which has been a cornerstone of American foreign
policy for decades, and what J Street has coined the “One-State Caucus,”
a small but vocal group of Members of Congress who “want to destroy any
chance for a Palestinian state.” The video calls on Romney to make
clear that “he stands with decades of Republican leaders who have stood
for Israel and for peace,” because “It’s pro-Israel to stand for two
states. Anything less is not.”

To date, Romney has been relatively circumspect when it comes to
Israel, resisting the inclination of other candidates in the Republican
field who have staked out positions to the right of Israel’s own
government’s to burnish their “pro-Israel” credentials. While he has yet
to declare whether he supports the two-state solution, Romney has been
critical of President Obama’s efforts to achieve it. It has been widely
speculated that a recent $100 million pledge to support Romney’s bid by
right-wing billionaire Sheldon Adelson could prove a determining factor
in Romney’s stance.

JStreetPAC has consistently broken new ground since its establishment in
2008, becoming the largest pro-Israel PAC in its first election and in
each since, as well as the first to disburse more than $1 million in a
single cycle. This year, the PAC is not only on track to surpass its
endorsement of 61 candidates in 2010, but to distribute more than its
previous record of $1.5 million to candidates.

What's with this "long-standing cornerstone" business?

The US has been anti-Jerusalem since 1949 but 99% of American Jewry and almost that of non-Jews support a different "long-standing" American policy. Is J Street implying its un-American not to support J Street's radical, extremist ideological positions?

Americans have a more positive (35%) than negative (23%) view of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though 41% are not familiar enough with him to rate him. Views of Netanyahu are similar to what they were in Gallup's last measurement -- in May 1999, during the latter part of his first term as prime minister.
The July 9-12 poll was conducted in advance of Netanyahu's scheduled meeting with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney this weekend in Israel as part of Romney's overseas trip.

Mitt Romney, the all-but-official Republican presidential candidate, delivered a stem-winder of a speech to the Jerusalem Foundation today, packing emotional support with frank policy statements. The contrast with Obama could hardly be more dramatic. Indeed, one could go through the speech and note the many refutations of Obama. For example, the opening comment that "To step foot into Israel is to step foot into a nation that began with an ancient promise made in this land"
directly contrasts with Obama's crabbed statement in Cairo about "the
aspiration for a Jewish homeland [being] rooted in a tragic history."

Also, in contrast to the nonsensical Obama administration stance on Jerusalem – sneaking in changes to captions that identified it as such and going through verbal gymnastics to avoid calling it that – Romney came out and plainly called Jerusalem "the capital of Israel."

Many of his statements are paeans to the Jewish state and its extraordinary ties to the United States... it is the final words that most struck me: "May God bless America, and may He bless and protect the Nation of Israel." When last did a politician ask the Lord to protect another country and not his own?

I guess Jerusalem is so much better a location than, well, Cairo for that matter.

...Romney’s
aides escorted several other top donors through the temple plaza to
watch Romney place his prayer in the wall....

...Romney’s wife, Ann,
inserted her own prayer note into the female side of the wall, pausing
for several minutes and placing her hand on a brick. As she walked
through the temple plaza, one woman shouted, “Ann! We are pulling for
Mitt!”...

The "temple area" and the "temple plaza" are up above, inside the Temple Mount esplanade, the walled compound. The Western Wall Plaza is outside the Temple Mount area altogether.

I hope the Muslims don't get over-excited and incite.

And no, Mitt is not going over the plans for "storming" the Temple Mount*

A number of youth groups organized on Sunday afternoon a sit-in outside the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, calling for an official strong
government position in response to the Israeli calls to storm Al-Aqsa
Mosque. The protesters chanted slogans demanding the government to intervene
immediately to stop the Israeli attempts to storm Al-Aqsa mosque on the
anniversary of the so-called “Destruction of the Temple”. The protesters threatened to escalate the protest movement in case
the Jordanian government did not shoulder its responsibility towards
Al-Aqsa.

Israeli settlers and soldiers have staged repeated break-ins to Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City in recent weeks, as the anniversary of
the destruction of the Second Temple looms for the city’s religious
Jewish population.

The hundreds of Jews who planned to enter the Temple Mount esplanade today, Tisha B'Av, are being hindered by a police refusal to permit them entry despite assurance this past week that the area would be open as usual.

The police have announced that due to a suspicion of "provocations", they have closed the Temple Mount to Jews. An appeal was sent to the High Court of Justice.

UPDATE

By the way,

Police commander
Moshe Barkat told Army Radio that the police will allow Jewish
worshipers to enter the Temple Mount during Tisha Be'av on Saturday
night and Sunday. He noted that the police will attempt to prevent clashes with Muslims praying on the Mount during the month of Ramadan.

Eldad said much could be learned from the “problematic deal” signed
recently regarding Givat Ha'Ulpana in Beit El. “It is that they decided
there not to demolish the homes, but rather, to cut them in pieces,” he
noted..."Let us learn that even more so, this applies when the time comes to build the Holy Temple, and that will be soon. We will then cut up the structure which is there now,” he proposed.

“We will cut it up, and they can take it wherever they want – because that is where the Third Holy Temple should and will stand – speedily in our days!”

...Obama appears to believe that Israel needs to understand that if it doesn't move, the United States will be hard pressed to continue to give it complete support. In this respect, when it comes to Israel, Obama is more like Jimmy Carter minus the biblical interest or attachment, or like Bush 41 minus a strategy. My sense is that, if he could get away with it, the president would like to see a U.S.-Israeli relationship that is not just less exclusive, but somewhat less special as well...when it comes to Israel, Obama is more like Jimmy Carter minus the biblical interest or attachment, or like Bush 41 minus a strategy. My sense is that, if he could get away with it, the president would like to see a U.S.-Israeli relationship that is not just less exclusive, but somewhat less special as well... on the issue of a peace settlement, Obama's views are much closer to the Palestinians than to Israel... the U.S.-Israeli relationship is in for a turbulent period. There will be no transformative moment here for the two main players. If Obama had a wish regarding Israel, it would be that anyone --Shaul Mofaz, Tzipi Livni, Ehud Olmert -- replace Bibi. And when Bibi blows out the candles on his next birthday, he'll be wishing that Mitt Romney defeats Obama in November. It's fascinating to consider that in the two most recent cases where American presidents clashed with Israeli prime ministers -- Carter and Bush 41-- both were defeated.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

I’m no stranger to Israel and Palestine, still what shocks me about
coming here is how blatant the system of unfairness is...A few impressions of the blatancy. I flew into Ben Guiron from Newark
and my flight was mostly Jewish. There were no Palestinians or Arabs on
the flight, as far as I could see. The sense was reinforced at
Ben-Gurion. I saw no women wearing hijab, the customary form of dress in
this part of the world.

So, a lack of Arabs is --- blatant apartheid.

Is that logical? Sensible?

To turn the tables: a Hamas terrorist didn't kill a Jew today? Is he not a terrorist?

Dr. Ekrema Sabri, the Khatib (preacher) of the Aqsa mosque, lashed out at the Jewish settlers for repeatedly storming the holy site. Addressing a Friday congregation of 250000 worshipers at the Aqsa
mosque, Sabri said that the Aqsa is not owned by the Israeli occupation
authority to allow break-ins of its soldiers and settlers at will. He warned Muslims against letting down the Aqsa

Hamas movement lashed out at the Israeli occupation authority (IOA)
for recent escalation in violations against the Aqsa mosque in occupied
Jerusalem and against worshipers. In a statement on Friday, Hamas warned the IOA against persisting in
such attacks especially in the holy month of Ramadan, describing the
attacks as blatant violation of heavenly religions and international
norms other than a clear provocation to millions of Muslim around the
world. Hamas, which was commenting on the repeated desecration of the mosque
and attacks on worshipers at the hands of Jewish settlers and Israeli
soldiers, appealed to all Palestinians capable of reaching the holy site
to do so and to confront the IOA racist policies.

The International Quds Institution (IQI) has warned of an expected
escalation of incursions by Jewish settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque with the
approach of the anniversary of the “destruction of the Temple” which
falls on Sunday. The foundation revealed in a press statement on Friday that the
Israeli incursions into the Aqsa aim at strengthening the Jewish control
over the Mosque in order to rebuild the alleged temple.

"From my experience there, I formed the conviction that there is no such
thing as a conflict that can't be ended...Conflicts are
created, conducted and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by
human beings."

Three of the four main dissident republican terror groups in Northern Ireland are to merge and reclaim the banner of the IRA, in an escalation of attempts to de-stabilise power sharing..the new organisation claimed it had formed a "unified structure, under a
single leadership". It said the organisation would be "subservient to
the constitution of the Irish Republican Army". This is the first
time since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that a majority of the forces
of dissident republicanism has coalesced...the new paramilitary force included several hundred
armed dissidents, including some former members of the now disbanded
Provisional IRA...The
new organisation is planning to intensify terror attacks on the
security forces and other targets related to what it regards as symbols
of the British presence, according to the source.

Jaabari calls on
Israel to end the occupation by imposing Israeli law on all parts of the
land that it controls and naturalizing all its residents, as was
accomplished by Israel's
government in Jerusalem and the Golan through the Jerusalem Law in 1980.

As in the case of Arab residents of Jerusalem, Jaabari is calling for
citizenship without the right to vote for Knesset. This could be the
basis for a one state solution in which the demographic threat has been
neutralized.

...Talia Sasson...has criticized the Commission on
the grounds that its conclusions are contradicted by Israeli Supreme
Court rulings. But contrary to Sasson’s assertions, while the Supreme
Court has adjudicated cases on the basis of Israel’s voluntary
assumption of selected duties of a belligerent occupant, the Court has
never ruled that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies de jure to the West Bank.

In
opposing the Levy report, Aeyal Gross and David Kretzmer have claimed
that if the laws of belligerent occupation do not apply de jure to
the West Bank, Israel lacked the authority to empower a military
commander to undertake actions such as seizing property in the
territory. However, Gross and Kretzmer err. Israel’s administrative law
determines the powers given to an Israeli military commander, not
international law, and there is nothing to prevent Israel granting
various powers to its commander in the West Bank, in the absence of a de jure belligerent occupation...

Some
have argued that the Levy report is foolish politically, arguing that
by asserting its legal rights, Israel will signal that it is unwilling
to entertain “land for peace” compromises. This seems a doubtful thesis.
Israel has asserted its legal rights to Jerusalem for decades, but yet
repeatedly offered compromises on its rights in the city.

Others
have objected that the Levy report’s conclusions can be disputed by
international jurists, including by a controversial and non-binding
advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice...The Levy
Commission’s conclusions are logical applications of reasonable
understandings of the rules in an area where no authoritative resolution
of the dispute has yet been rendered.

The
Levy report has reinvigorated the discussion of the legitimacy of
Israel’s position under international law after many years in which
Israel has been silent about its legal rights. That is a welcome
development.

About Me

American born, my wife and I moved to Israel in 1970. We have lived at Shiloh together with our family since 1981. I was in the Betar youth movement in the US and UK. I have worked as a political aide to Members of Knesset and a Minister during 1981-1994, lectured at the Academy for National Studies 1977-1994, was director of Israel's Media Watch 1995-2000 and currently, I work at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. I was a guest media columnist on media affairs for The Jerusalem Post, op-ed contributor to various journals and for six years had a weekly media show on Arutz 7 radio. I serve as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish Communities in Judea & Samaria.